The Chinese government has been keeping a secret for forty years: they have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr Cassandra Jane 'CJ' Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will marvel at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, that nothing can go wrong . . .

When Alice Hopkins' husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives. But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women's names. To what lengths will Matthew's obsession drive him? And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?

This exciting activity pad is bursting with zoo-themed activities, including an elephant dot-to-dot, sloths to match and a chimpanzee maze. There’s a zoo animal picture to colour on the back of each puzzle sheet, too. The tear-off sheets are great for sharing, and all the puzzle answers are given at the back of the pad.

Rod Campbell, the creator of the preschool lift-the-flap classic Dear Zoo, has been a trusted name in early learning for over thirty years. ABC Zoo is a first alphabet book with a difference - toddlers will love lifting the flaps to discover their favourite zoo animals, all the way to Z for zebra. With bright, bold artwork, a simple, engaging text and a whole host of favourite animals, ABC Zoo is the perfect introduction to the alphabet - and the thick board pages, chunky cased cover and sturdy flaps make it great for small hands.

Rod Campbell, the creator of the preschool lift-the-flap classic Dear Zoo, has been a trusted name in early learning for over thirty years. ABC Zoo is a first alphabet book with a difference - young children will love lifting the flaps to discover their favourite zoo animals, all the way to Z for zebra. With bright, bold artwork, a simple, engaging text and a whole host of favourite animals, ABC Zoo is the perfect introduction to the alphabet - and the chunky board book format and sturdy card flaps make it great for small hands.

The ideal travel companion, full of insider advice on what to see and do, plus detailed itineraries and comprehensive maps for exploring this cultured and unique nation. Explore the magnificent Forbidden City at the heart of Beijing; walk along the Great Wall of China; see the fascinating Terracotta Army near Xi'an; admire the futuristic skylines of Shanghai and Hong Kong; or marvel at the beauty of China's natural landscapes: everything you need to know is clearly laid out within colour-coded chapters. Discover the best of China with this indispensable travel guide.

Rod Campbell, the creator of the preschool lift-the-flap classic Dear Zoo, has been a trusted name in early learning for over thirty years. The much-loved Buster from the bestselling Oh Dear! returns in Rod Campbell's Buster's Zoo. Toddlers will love exploring the zoo and discovering their favourite animals in this touch-and-feel board book. With bright, bold artwork, lots of touch-and-feel textures and a special lift-the-flap surprise, Buster's Zoo is sure to delight young children - and the thick board pages and chunky cased cover make it great for small hands.

China is one of the oldest states in the world. It achieved its approximate current borders with the Ascendancy of the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century, and despite the passing of one Imperial dynasty to the next, it has maintained them for the eight centuries since. Even the European colonial powers at the height of their power could not move past coastal enclaves. Thus, China remained China through the Ming, the Qing, the Republic, the Occupation, and Communism. But, despite the desires of some of the most powerful people in the Great State through the ages, China has never been alone in the world. It has had to contend with invaders from the steppe and the challenges posed by foreign traders and imperialists. Indeed, its rulers for the majority of the last eight centuries have not been Chinese. Timothy Brook examines China's relationship with the world from the Yuan through to the present by following the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people navigating the spaces where China met and meets the world. Bureaucrats, horse traders, spiritual leaders, explorers, pirates, emperors, invaders, migrant workers, traitors, and visionaries: this is a history of China as no one has told it before.

Paul Kennedy’s international bestseller is a sweeping account of five hundred years of fluctuating economic muscle and military might. Kennedy’s masterwork begins in the year 1500, at a time of various great centres of power including Minh China, the Ottomans, the rising Mughal state, the nations of Europe. But it was the latter which, through competition, economic growth and better military organisation, came to dominate the globe – until challenged later by Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Now China, boosted by its own economic prowess, rises to the fore. Throughout this brilliant work, Kennedy persuasively demonstrates the interdependence of economic and military power, showing how an imbalance between the two has historically led to spectacular political disaster. Erudite and brilliantly original, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics of power.

There are sixteen contestants, but only one will survive. The last thing Jack West Jr remembers is arriving for a meeting at a top-secret military base with his family in tow. Now he awakes to find himself in a hellish scenario. Jack has been selected to take part in the Games, a series of deadly challenges designed to fulfil an ancient ritual. If he chooses not to compete, both he and his daughter will be killed. With the fate of the Earth at stake, Jack will have to traverse diabolical mazes, fight ruthless assassins and face unimaginable horrors that will test him to the limit. In the process, he will discover the mysterious and powerful group of individuals behind it all: the four legendary kingdoms. The thrilling new Jack West adventure from the bestselling author of The Great Zoo of China and The Five Greatest Warriors.

Come on in and meet all the animals! From the large grey elephant and the stripy zebra, to the bouncy kangaroo and the big friendly hippo, this great-value board book contains sixteen popular zoo animals. In Rod Campbell's My Zoo you can learn their names and then discover their different shapes and sizes as you turn the chunky die-cut pages. A classic theme in a satisfying new format by the creator of the worldwide bestselling lift-the-flap book Dear Zoo. The perfect way to introduce your children to the wonder and variety of wild animals!

From the Samuel Johnson Prize-winning author of Mao's Great Famine, a timely and compelling account of China in the wake of Chairman Mao In China After Mao, award-winning historian Frank Dikotter explores how the People's Republic of China was transformed from a backwater economy in the 1970s into the world superpower of today. His account is the first to be based on hundreds of previously unseen archival documents, from the secret minutes of top party meetings to confidential bank reports. Unfolding with great narrative sweep, this riveting, richly detailed chronicle recasts our understanding of an era that both the regime and foreign admirers celebrate as an economic miracle. In charting four decades of so-called 'Reform and Opening Up' and China's emergence as a world power, Dikotter tells a fascinating tale of contradictions and illusions, of shadow banking, anti-corruption drives and extreme state wealth standing alongside everyday poverty. He examines China's approach to the 2008 financial crash, the country's increasing hostility towards perceived Western interference and its development into a thoroughly entrenched dictatorship - one equipped with a sprawling security apparatus and the most sophisticated surveillance system in the world. Ultimately, the book concludes, the communist party's goal was never to join the democratic sphere, but to resist it - and then defeat it.

China's story is extraordinarily rich and dramatic. Now Michael Wood, one of the UK's pre-eminent historians, brings it all together in a major new one-volume history of China that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand its burgeoning role in our world today. China is the oldest living civilisation on earth, but its history is still surprisingly little known in the wider world. Michael Wood's sparkling narrative, which mingles the grand sweep with local and personal stories, woven together with the author's own travel journals, is an enthralling account of China's 4000-year-old tradition, taking in life stationed on the Great Wall or inside the Forbidden City. The story is enriched with the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries; correspondence and court cases going back to the Qin and Han dynasties; family letters from soldiers in the real-life Terracotta Army; stories from Silk Road merchants and Buddhist travellers, along with memoirs and diaries of emperors, poets and peasants. In the modern era, the book is full of new insights, with the electrifying manifestos of the feminist revolutionaries Qiu Jin and He Zhen, extraordinary eye-witness accounts of the Japanese invasion, the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, and fascinating newly published sources for the great turning points in China's modern history, including the Tiananmen Square crisis of 1989, and the new order of President Xi Jinping. A compelling portrait of a single civilisation over an immense period of time, the book is full of intimate detail and colourful voices, taking us from the desolate Mongolian steppes to the ultra-modern world of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It also asks what were the forces that have kept China together for so long? Why was China overtaken by the west after the 18th century? What lies behind China's extraordinary rise today? The Story of China tells a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity and deep humanity; a portrait of a country that will be of the greatest importance to the world in the twenty-first century.

A gripping manga based on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China video game, featuring iconic Assassin Shao Jun. Unveil a tale that will engulf the world. 1526 AD—China is ruled by the Great Ming Empire. Though the empire flourishes, the winds of the new emperor’s political purge are sweeping over the land, and turmoil is brewing. With the decimation of her comrades, Shao Jun has become China’s last Assassin. After escaping to Europe, she has now returned alone to her homeland. Her purpose: vengeance!… Shao Jun, the last Assassin in China, has returned to her homeland with vengeance on her mind. The Templar Order’s machinations must be stopped, and only Shao Jun stands ready for the battle to come. Shao Jun has found great success on her mission so far, but now the enemy plans to take the lives of her loved ones. Finding and killing Lord Wei Bin is going to prove to be a true challenge!

Three thousand years of Chinese history in an accessible and authoritative single volume. Despite the recent rise of China to a position of dominance on the world economic stage, Chinese history remains an elusive subject. Yet it is this vast narrative of appalling loss, superhuman endeavour and incredible invention that has made China the superpower it is today. From the dawn of legend to the succession of great dynasties, from Confucius to Chairman Mao and from the clamour of revolution to the lure of slick capitalism, John Keay takes the reader on a sweeping tour through Chinese history. This is a definitive and indispensable account of a country set to play a major part in our future.

Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult students the Oxford Bookworms Library has seven reading levels from A1-C1 of the CEFR. What are the most beautiful, the most interesting, the most wonderful things in the world? The Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, the Panama Canal - everyone has their favourites. And there are natural wonders too - Mount Everest, Niagara Falls, and the Northern Lights, for example. Here is one person's choice of eleven wonders. Some of them are made by people, and others are natural. Come and discover new wonders...